A community advisory committee in Brookville will consider whether to ban cell phone use by students in that district.

We have more on why the district says it’s time to weigh the pros and cons.

Brookville superintendent Dr. Robin Fillman says it’s time to re-evaluate their policy from 2013 about kids using cell phones in school.

“It’s been taking a lot of the guidance counselors’ and the principals’ time, and it’s a distraction from the educational purpose of the school,” says Fillman.

Allowing kids to have phones can help if their teacher uses Google Docs or other programs, but school officials are now thinking about going back to where cell phones had to be kept in backpacks and were not seen during the school day.

“They’ve been uploading pictures of each other, using text inappropriately, and I’m really proud of the kids reporting that misuse,” says Fillman.

Fillman says some kids are bullying each other, and it’s a problem for the district because of when it happens.

“Guidance counselors have been informed by students of the misuse and we’ve looked at the posting times and they are during the school day,” says Fillman.

Fillman says a big change since the 2013 regulation is a Keystone To Opportunity grant that provided about $3 million spread out over five years, and is now in its last year.

That grant allowed the school to get I-Pads and laptop carts, making kids’ own phones less important now.

“We’re in a different place and I think this is a good time to re-evaluate,” says Fillman. “We just really want to make sure that those electronic devices are used for educational purposes.”

That committee will be discussing the cell phone issue further and it’s unclear when any changes could be implemented.